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The Hawaiian Archipelago is distributed approximately 1,296 nmi (2,960 km) in the north central Pacific Ocean. It consists of two regions: eight populated large islands, the Main Hawaiian Islands (MHI), and 124 mostly uninhabited small islands, atolls, reefs, and submerged banks to the northwest of the MHI, the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI).

The eight Main Hawaiian Islands, listed from East to West are: Hawaii, Maui, Kahoolawe, Lanai, Molokai, Oahu, Kauai, and Niihau. All except Kahoolawe are inhabited.

The MHI are high volcanic islands with non-structural reef communities, fringing reefs, and two barrier reefs. With few exceptions, the near-shore coral reefs range from fair to excellent condition but are threatened by continued population growth, overexploitation of many target food fishes and invertebrates, urbanization, runoff, and development. Attractive marine aquarium trade species have been heavily exploited. Introduced aquatic alien species are threats because they may out-compete endemic species.

Greater than 60 percent of coral reefs in U.S. waters are found in the Hawaiian Archipelago. These marine ecosystems are not only ecologically important but also provide hundreds of millions of dollars annually to Hawaii’s economy.

What are Coral Reefs?

Appearing as solitary forms in the fossil record more than 400 million years ago, corals are extremely ancient animals that evolved into modern reef-building forms over the last 25 million years.Continue Reading →

coral reef conservation program

The NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) is a partnership between the NOAA Line Offices that work on coral reef issues: the National Ocean Service, the National Marine Fisheries Service, the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, and the National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service. The CRCP brings together expertise from across NOAA for a multidisciplinary approach to managing and understanding coral reef ecosystems.